All posts by Lenka

I’ve been a busy bee and finally got a chance to sit down and make a peapod with birthstones! I had been holding it off for a while because I wasn’t sure what type of bead I wanted to use. At first I wanted to stay with freshwater pearls, but I had a hard time finding nice ones. I realize that no pearl strand is perfect and has many throw aways, but the pearls I came across seemed like ALL were throw aways lol.

So, I thought.. I would try the swarovski pearls. I did my best to choose the appropriate colors and hopefully I succeeded. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality, I think they look great and I’m happy to work with them.

I just can’t live without my sandpaper these days. When I first started I had no idea what grits to use so remove the surface scratches off of my jewelry. So, I thought It might be useful to some to post some of the grades I like to use myself to get the surface scratches off of my sterling silver.

I like to start off with a grade of 220-280 sandpaper (this is really rough, I use it when I’ve got some major marks to remove) then move on to 400 (my favorite to start with) then 650-700 and finish off with a 1000 or 1200.

You can most likely find the sandpaper grit you are looking for in an auto supply store.

The sandpaper is fairly cheap and such a must! I don’t know what I would do without mine 🙂

It seems a few times a week I’m getting asked the question, “What are findings?”. If you’re new to jewelry making, you’re probably already using them and just don’t realize it. Findings are the connective pieces to your jewelry such as clasps, crimps, jump rings and earwires to name a few. You can buy or create your own findings in virtually every type of metal available.

Now to a completely different topic. I finally have a Twitter account. I know, I know, I’m so behind the times but I’m trying to catch up. If you’re on Twitter, I would love to have you as a friend. Is that even the right lingo to use?

I’ve been very busy lately making lots of jewelry and filling orders. I was hoping I would have some time to work on my main site perfections.com where I showcase all my jewelry. Unfortunately there’s just not enough hours in the day to get the new pages finished. Hopefully I’ll get some spare time here soon and can work on those pages a bit more. Once I put the pages live, I’ll be sure to post here so everyone can check them out and give some feedback. Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely happy being busy and having lots of orders to fill.

I recently purchased a jewelry saw, thinking I would try a new technique. I have to admit I was a little bit intimidated. Yes, I broke blades 🙂 but I learned that the saw needs to be lubricated at ALL times! keep it straight and you’ll be fine. Oh did I mention Practice? Practice? Practice? I bought two huge sheets of copper, I couldn’t bear the thought of wasting sterling silver, especially with the price skyrocketing these days. But I did get enough guts to make a naughty cat charm. I turned it into a pendant necklace!

The most accurate method of finding the proper ring size for your finger would be to visit a local jewelry store and ask for a sizing. They usually offer this service free of charge.

Another method which you can try at home is using a string, a tape measure and the ring size chart listed below.

1. Find a piece of string.2. Wrap it around the base of your finger.3. Use a pen to mark the point on the string where it overlaps to form a complete circle.4. With a ruler, measure the length from the starting end of the string to the pen mark.5. Use the measurement and the chart below to determine your ring size.

I thought I would post one of my latest creations. It’s a flower pendant necklace. I hand formed the daisy using fine silver, fused it and tumbled it forever. I just love the way it turned out! It’s so light and simple! I had a hard time trying to decide how to present it as a necklace with out taking the spotlight away from the daisy. I didn’t want to over do it either with unnecessary bells and whistles. So I just hung it on a sterling silver chain and added a 7mm white freshwater pearl. Enjoy! 🙂

I’ve been working on some new necklaces, because.. well I’ve got a million earrings, I’ve been a little nervous about it, just because, I’m not a necklace making person! But then that was true about earrings! I love to wear them (necklaces) thought! So I thought I would start with pendants and made a cute little peapod necklace using 7mm green freshwater pearls. I also tried 8mm white freshwater pearls I think both turned out very nicely. Check out the green one!

I was recently looking at my tools and decided, I needed to update a few of them. Most of them came from my Brothers or Dad’s workshop, and I haven’t been living at home for…. well, a long time! So, yeah I needed something new!

A word of advice… Never buy any handmade jewelry “Tool Kit” of pliers, needle nose, cutters ect… from a craft store. I told my hubby I was thinking of asking Santa for some new jewelry tools and he took the initiative to get me some jewelry tools. (I did tell him I had no intention of breaking the bank when I did this.) Well, needless to say, those jewelry tools are now in the garage and my husband got himself a new set! I love him for trying though!

After that episode, I thought, maybe I should splurge. Don’t get me wrong, going with economy jewelry tools is fine! I have a few inexpensive jewelry tools myself, but I bought those from a handmade jewelry supply site and they work great! So if your starting out, those will work just fine.

So buying a few new tools for making my handmade jewelry dwindled down to one “AWESOME” tool. I went with new wire cutters. I searched high and low trying to get some feedback on which was best.. Low end jewelry cutters, high end jewelry cutters. I didn’t really find anything, or any opinions. I did find that every Tom, Dick, and Harry was selling them, saying theirs was the “BEST” jewelry tool around! But I couldn’t really find any reviews.

What jewelry tool did I go with?

Lindstrom 8141 flush cutter.

How did that work out?!

I have to say, I like the way they feel, and it cuts my sterling silver wire very nicely! Very Easily! If I were to change something… maybe, perhaps next time I would go for a super micro flush cutter. It cuts both ends of the wire straight, instead of just the one side like the one I have. Would I return this cutter?? NEVER!!! I love it. Definitely worth the money.

So you’ve made your beautiful piece of handcrafted jewelry, you love it! You want to show off your handcrafted creation and sell it online! So now you need to take photos of your handmade jewelry. Your photos should be crisp and clear, you want to show off your handmade jewelry at it’s finest! Sometimes, I’m not sure if taking photos of my handcrafted jewelry takes longer than actually making my handmade jewelry!

Here are two inexpensive ways to have your own jewelry studio!

My preference is natural light. I take most of my photos of my handmade earrings outside. I do use a white board one as a base, and another I cut with a knife partialy so that it folds like a book. I usually use a wine glass as a prop to hang my handmade jewelry from. If I am feeling really creative, I hang my handmade jewelry on branches or leaves.

It’s not a perfect world and I know weather doesn’t always comply. When I take photos of my handmade beaded jewelry inside, I use natural light light bulbs, and I bought two spot lights from the local hardware store for about $5 each (I don’t want shadows!). Yes, I still use my white board to take photos of my handcrafted jewelry. I usually take photos in a small space like the laundry room.

Experiment with angles, close-ups, ect…

If you would like to share your handmade jewelry photography please e-mail me!